Xuni Provides Native Experiences in Android, iOS and Windows Phone Using the Same API, Thanks to Xamarin.Forms

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 22, 2015 — (PRNewswire) — ComponentOne, a division of GrapeCity, the largest component solution provider in the Microsoft Visual Studio Partner Ecosystem, has announced the official beta release of its newest product, Xuni. Xuni is ComponentOne's collection of cross-platform UI controls for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

"We've designed Xuni to provide native experiences in Android, iOS and Windows Phone using the same API across all platforms," said Greg Lutz, product manager of Xuni. "With Xuni and Xamarin.Forms, developers can code once in C# and XAML to create enterprise-level apps for all devices. Thanks to Xuni, these apps can now include rich data visualization controls, such as charts and gauges."

The first release to web (RTW) version of Xuni is slated for February 2015, and Lutz shared that it will support Xamarin.Forms usage in all of its v1 controls. Xamarin.Forms, a product in Xamarin's mobile development platform, enables developers to build native user interfaces for iOS, Android and Windows Phone using 100% shared C#. Xamarin.Forms includes controls and layouts, which are mapped to native controls at runtime.

The collection of controls released in the beta version of Xuni is comprised of FlexChart, FlexPie and three gauge controls: Radial, Linear and BulletGraph. Like Xamarin.Forms, Xuni controls are mapped to native controls at runtime.

"With Xuni's FlexChart, data visualization is available through a wide array Cartesian chart types including bar, column, area, line & symbol, scatter, bubble and financial," said Lutz. "The control brings your dashboards to life with touch-based scrolling, zooming, selection and built-in animation features."

FlexPie offers a high level of customization and usability, because it's designed to do one thing – create dynamic pie charts. Xamarin.Forms users can easily modify data interaction and appearance, utilizing features and display options such as exploding slices and doughnut charts. Along with built-in animations on load and selection, FlexPie quickly delivers modern-looking mobile apps.

Xuni Gauges includes radial, linear and bullet-graph indicators, allowing users to round out their dashboards and business scorecards. Like charts, gauges also feature both animation and interaction capabilities.

"Xuni empowers developers to build richer cross-platform apps with advanced UI controls and features for the enterprise," said Joseph Hill, director of developer relations and co-founder at Xamarin. "Xuni fits perfectly into the Xamarin.Forms ecosystem, enabling .NET developers to use their current programming skills, tools and design patterns and then share the code, no matter what device they're targeting."

The Xuni beta is available now and can be downloaded directly from ComponentOne's website:
http://www.componentone.com/xuni. The company plans to officially release the product in February of this year. Lutz also shared that additional releases are scheduled for July and November of 2015 and will include new controls and features.

About GrapeCity
Founded in 1980, GrapeCity is an award-winning Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a premier Visual Studio Industry Partner, and one of the world's largest providers of developer components. The company has more than 850 employees and hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide. For close to 30 years, GrapeCity has provided enterprises around the world with state-of-the-art developer tools and components, software services, and solutions. For more company information, visit the ComponentOne division website:
http://www.componentone.com.